Livable Futures

Biography

Russell Lepley is a choreographer, performer and dance teacher. He and his husband and collaborator, Filippo Pelacchi, co-founded Flux + Flow Dance and Movement Center in Columbus in 2017 and co-direct FluxFlow Dance Project. As a choreographer Russell strives to create dance that challenges conventional ideas about dance and also about narrative and meaning by telling familiar (or almost familiar) stories through unconventional perspectives. His work has been performed at festivals internationally and in 2018 he received the Jacob’s Pillow’s Ann and Weston Hick’s Choreography Fellowship as well as the Columbus Dances Fellowship for his work with FluxFlow Dance Project. His newest work, URSULA, will be coproduced by The Wexner Center for the Arts and Livable Futures in December 2019. His work is deeply influenced by his time as a performer. He danced professionally with Houston Ballet II, BalletMet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (Canada), Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Germany), and Gärtnerplatztheater (Germany).  

Q & A

What makes more livable futures for you? 

I imagine more livable futures through the effort of individuals to enlarge their own sympathies while inspiring others to see dignity in those most different from themselves. In my life, that means creating work that shows that every flawed being has a past worth painting. If we can see the value in every human life, then perhaps we can extend that compassion to other sentient beings and to the planet we all share.

What are you reading, viewing, listening to right now?   

I’m currently reading Plainwater: Essays and Poetry by Anne Carson and The Beast in the Nursery by Adam Phillips. I recently finished reading Middlemarch by George Eliot which was a world I was sad to leave. My husband and I have taken to rewatching his childhood ballet DVD collection (which is quite impressive) and recently we watched the series Mozart and the Jungle which, with its humorous and affectionate portrayal of artists, served as a balm at the end of long days.

What practices are sustaining you? 

Yoga. Just five minutes of practice can change the course of my day.  

Dance. I regularly take ballet class and improvise. Feeling the joyful vibrations of dance in my own body helps me maintain a sense of purpose as a teacher and choreographer. A vegan diet. Recognizing and honoring the dignity of non-human beings helps build compassion and love for the planet.